FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2009
Little East Conference Men's Outdoor Track Report #6

Athlete of the Week
Peter Najem (Derry, N.H.), Senior, Keene State College

Najem won the 800-meter race at the New England Division III Championships on Saturday. He completed the course in time of 1:52.84 to defeat the 26-person field.

Co-Field Athletes of the Week
Bryan Kolacz (Brentwood, N.H.), Sophomore, Keene State College

Kolacz continued his strong spring season by capturing the hammer and discus events at the New England Division III Track and Field Championships at Springfield College on Saturday. Kolacz had a winning throw of 189'-10" in the hammer and a mark of 154'-09" in the discus. Keene State placed ninth in the team standings with 35 points.

James Spaulding (Lewiston, Maine), Senior, University of Southern Maine

Competing at the New England Division III Championships, Spaulding helped Southern Maine to an eighth place, equaling the best finish in program history, by winning the men's decathlon with a school record performance and automatically qualified for the NCAA National Championships later this month. Spaulding had an outstanding competition, scoring 6,679 points and winning three (LJ, SP, PV) of the six field events, including a career best mark of 4.25 meters (13-11 1/4) in the pole vault.

Rookie Track Athlete of the Week
Andrew Ricketts (Hartsdale, N.Y.), Freshman, Eastern Connecticut State University

Ricketts was named All-New England twice at the New England Division III Championship meet this weekend by finishing sixth in a field of 23 in the 100 meters (second freshman) and sixth with the 4x100 meter relay.